Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Dim the lights for the "one"

﻿ Iconic Broadway musical composer Marvin Hamlisch died today after a brief illness. He was 68.

He is, of course, best known for "A Chorus Line."
﻿

The cast of the 2009 revival as seen on tour in Chicago.
Photo by Paul Kolnik.

﻿﻿ His other works never matched the success of that musical, but many were notable in their own right. Other shows include "They're Playing Our Song," "Smile," "The Goodbye Girl" and "Sweet Smell of Success."

His latest musical, an adaptation of the Jerry Lewis classic comedy "The Nutty Professor," recently opened in Tennessee.

A child prodigy, Mr. Hamlisch was accepted into Julliard before he even turned seven. He was an Oscar winner by age 30.

He also was one of a few individuals to have won a quintuple of major awards: Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony and Pulitzer.

My favorites from the Hamlisch songbook (in no particular order):

"What I Did For Love" from "A Chorus Line."

"Smile" from the Broadway flop of the same name:

"I Cannot Hear the City" from "Sweet Smell of Success"

"The Way We Were" from the film of the same name.

"Through the Eyes of Love" from "Ice Castles" (Sorry, no clip)

"Disneyland" from "Smile" (sung by Jodi Benson,who would later voice Ariel in Disney's "The Little Mermaid").